Trains are a convenient mode of short, medium and long distance travel across Europe.
Western and central Europe has a dense and widely used railway network spanning the entire continent.

For short distances, European trains are fast, reliable and frequent. For longer distances they can be preferable to flying for several reasons. Trains have more spacious and comfortable interiors, may offer scenic routes, and do not require long waits at security like at airports. They usually run more frequently as well, and take their travellers to railway stations located in or very close to city centres, whereas airports, especially the ones that budget airliners fly into, can be up to 100 km away from the city centre, requiring expensive and time-consuming connecting services. Ultimately, many people may choose the train over the plane for the feeling of romantic travel they provide.

Trains are flexible in modern day society, the opportunities for destination travel in Europe are endless. Virtually any town larger than about 50,000 inhabitants has a railway station with frequent connections. The towns that aren't served by trains have good bus connections that are normally integrated with the railway system - railway stations normally also serve as hubs for local buses. Transfers are fast and convenient all over Europe; you rarely need to wait longer than 2 hours for a connecting service.

The quality, speed and price of train travel depends on the country, Western European countries generally offering higher speed and more luxurious trains at higher prices than Eastern European countries. When bought on the spot, trains tickets can be more expensive than cheap flights over the same distance, but this difference may disappear when the tickets are booked in advance. Not to forget the costs to get to the airport. Train travel is getting faster every year through the construction of new high speed lines which travel up to 320km/h (200 mph), and upgrading of conventional lines to 200 km/h (125 mph). Especially Germany, France, Belgium and Italy have extensive high-speed networks.

The one problem with rail travel is security. Railway passengers need to be alert about pickpocketing and luggage theft, especially on crowded commuter trains. Since baggage isn't screened, there is also the remote danger of terrorism, though the rarity of such attacks in Europe should not cause worries to the occasional traveller. Another problem with rail is overcrowding. Increasing numbers of commuters in Europe are switching to rail travel to escape congestion on the roads, and it is often impossible to find a seat in 2nd class at rush hours. Still plenty of seats often remain in the 1st class, and some travellers choose to stay there in such situations even though they have a 2nd class ticket. Although not strictly permitted, one often gets away with it because tickets are less frequently checked during periods of overcrowding. Overcrowding is especially common in urban agglomerations such as South-East England, Benelux, The Ruhr region, and the Po Valley.

All trains have coach seating or often labeled as 2nd class in the local language. Most long distance trains travelling from one large city to another large city will have first class seating too. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, France and Germany, trains have so-called "silent" compartments, where you're not allowed to make noise or use mobile phones.

Planning your trip

Most countries have timetables and travel planners available on the sites of their national railways. The website of the German national railways [1] has a very convenient route planner [2] that covers almost the entire European railway network (and beyond), as well as bus, metro, and ferry connections in Germany. Price information is available for train rides which go through Germany only, however: for that information you still need the national websites.
Locally, look for the departure timetables posted in the station. Staff at the ticket counter may be able to help you out with planning your trip.

An invaluable website for planning rail journeys is [3]. Seat61.com is not a company or a travel agency, but a personal site.

When planning your trip, Mappy [4] is a good online tool for discovering if your hotel is near the train station. Mappy always indicates the location of the station with an engine icon. On other maps the station may be hard to find.

Tickets

Regular tickets

The cost of rail travel varies greatly by country. Eastern European countries tend to offer very cheap travel. Italy is comparatively cheap as well.

Domestic

Some countries price tickets based only upon distance traveled, so called KM-tariffs. These are still common in Eastern Europe, saving you worries of advance purchase and giving you more flexibility. Many countries still using this pricing have higher regular KM-rates but have discounts for trains that are less in-demand available for advance purchase (e.g. Denmark, Switzerland, Spain). Increasingly railways are using rates based on a number of factors and selling tickets based on demand, speed of the connection, etc. in a similar fashion to most airline pricing. In countries where this is the case (especially France, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain) you should try booking in advance rather than walking up to the ticket desk on the day of travel, as that becomes akin (also in price) to buying a flight at check-in. The up-side of countries with this scheme is that advance fares can be significantly cheaper, for instance tickets from Edinburgh to London are just £25 if booked in advance, saving 75% over common walk up fares of over £100. Germany and France sell tickets for their high-speed networks identically to airlines, meaning a cross-country advance ticket might cost €19 and same-day you can expect to pay €200 or more.

In many countries with KM-tariffs there is a higher per-KM price for faster trains (e.g. Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania) while in a few countries tickets are valid for any train of your choice (e.g. Austria, Hungary) offering the highest flexibility and easiest to understand.

International

For decades, basic international rail fares have been subject to the TCV (Tarif Commun pour Voyageurs - Common Fare for Passengers) which provided a common basis for calculating fares (normally based on distance) and conditions of carriage (how much luggage you can carry, what you're entitled to if your train is delayed or cancelled, etc). In recent years more and more trains have been introduced whose fares are not TCV-based e.g. Thalys, CNL, Cisalpino, many of which are "global priced" - you pay the same fare regardless of how far you travel on the train. Global-priced trains are often problematic when you try to use a pass like Eurail or InterRail on them, as they may require you to pay a "passholder" fare to get one of a limited number of seats made available for pass holders. International tickets sold don't use TCV anymore either, instead railways have assorted partnerships and offer tickets and specials for competetive prices, especially if booked in advance. It is still possible in some countries (especially in the East) just to buy a domestic ticket to the border station, and buy the onward ticket then onboard from the conductor in the next country, meaning you pay a cheaper domestic rate in both countries. It also helps to be creative, for instance a trip from Vienna to Istanbul can be made by purchasing a special discounted CityStar ticket from the Hungarian railways from the Austrian/Hungarian border to the Bulgarian/Turkish border and just buying to cheap domestic tickets from Vienna to the border and Istanbul to the border, saving you as much as €200 off of a single ticket.

Booking

Advance booking can normally be done online, through the websites of the national railway companies. For international tickets use the railway website of either country you are travelling through. Compare the fares, as they may differ. In some parts of Europe you may not be able to book these online, you can try calling the railway's hotline or using a booking service like RailEurope (which will incur extra cost). Tickets can sometimes be printed at home, they may be mailed to you or made available for collection at a railway station. You will usually be offered the option to reserve seats or sleepers; seats may be free or cost €2-€5; sleepers are usually €20. Reserved seats are recommended especially on long trips.

Ticketing in most of Europe is based on a trust system: You simply buy the ticket at the station or online and hop on the train. Once you're on a train, a conductor will come around to check your tickets. Getting on a train without a valid ticket could land you with a fine, but purchasing a ticket on the train is often possible at a higher price, sometimes even without penalty (especially on lines where its not possible to buy tickets at all stations). The UK is an exception to this system, where tickets are often required to get on and off the platforms.
In some countries (e.g. France, Italy, Slovakia) you need to date stamp your train ticket before boarding. Otherwise, the ticket is not valid and you will be fined (e.g. a €108 fine in France).

Discounts

Group Travel

Group travel often incurs discounts, in some countries two people traveling together get a discount, in others a group of six or more is required for discount.

Schönes Wochende Ticket valid on weekends across Germany allows a group of up to five people to travel on all regional trains across the country, local public transport in several cities, and even to some international towns near the border for just €39. During weekdays there are similar tickets available, which offer the same unlimited travel but are limited to one Bundesland.

Einfach-Raus-Ticket in Austria costs €28 for up to five people and is valid on any day for up to five people for the entire country, albet only regional trains.

SONE+ in the Czech Republic is avaible on weekends as a one-day pass for the entire country for 2 adults and up to three childern (under 15) for 150CZK (€6) limited to regional (Os and Sp) trains, or 450CZK (€17) valid on Os, Sp, R, IC and EC trains.

Discount Cards

Most railways have a discount card, normally with versions for youth, adults, seniors and the disabled offering a standard discount on domestic tickets. You may need local documents or residency to obtain it but often all you need is a passport photo and ID. Discounts vary. Cards are valid for one year unless otherwise noted.

Austria offers the Vorteilscard[5] (€20 for youth under 26, €100 for adults) gets you 50% off 1st and 2nd class and includes RailPlus.

France offers a 12-25 youth card for 50€ which can be both purchased & renewed online and which guarantee at least a 25% discount on all trains whatever the time of your departure. But it can also gives up to 60% discount on some trains (TGV, Téoz, & Lunéa) and 50% discount on off-peak trains (Corail, Corail Intercités, & TER). It also includes RailPlus. For more information, refer to: [6] (in French)

Germany offers the the Bahn card[7] in versions for 1st and 2nd class and for 25% and 50% discount.

In the Netherlands it might be interesting to get yourself a Voordeeluren card, for €55 a year, which gives a 40% discount after 9 a.m. on weekdays and all day at weekends and on holidays. It allows 3 other passengers travelling with you to benefit from the same discount, and also enables you to buy a Railplus card for €15. It can be bought online but has to be paid for with a Dutch bank account.

United Kingdom has 'young persons', 'family', 'senior' and 'disabled persons' Railcards, which entitle the holder to a 33% discount. These are available from train stations for £24.00.

RailPlus is a program offering a 25% discount on all border crossing train tickets in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Great Britain, Italy, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Hungary. It is included in some national discount cards, but must be purchased separately in other countries. In France, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, Spain and Norway the Railplus scheme is only for those under 26 years of age. The RailPlus card also provides a discount on some international ferries.

Advance Purchase

Both domestic and international advance purchase tickets are offered increasingly through a number of schemes. Some are unrefundable or even set to a specific person's name, others can be changed for a fee. Consider carefully whether there is any possibility that you may need to travel earlier or later than you booked. If you're making a day trip somewhere, are connecting from a flight, have reason to fear local road traffic or otherwise can't commit to an exact time, ask before booking what the penalties are for missing your train, and how much extra a more flexible ticket would be. If you have a restricted ticket, do take care to get the right train, as if you get the wrong one by mistake you may have to pay a full open single fare, a "penalty fare" or a fine, or you might even be prosecuted. So:

if you're going from B to C and you have a ticket for the 13:30 train, and you see a train just arriving at about 13:28, make sure it's not in fact the 12:30 running an hour late, and

if you're at A with a ticket to C on the 17:00, and you get there early and see two trains for your destination, make sure you get on the 17:00 (and not the 16:30 or 17:30) and ask someone in authority if you're in doubt.

Don't expect too much sympathy if you get it wrong or if you miss your train. The only exceptions are, of course, if your train is cancelled (then you can get the next one) or if you miss a connection because of a delay to or cancellation of some other train on the same ticket.

Railway specific information:

In the UK, Advance [purchase] tickets are a cheap way of travelling if you can get hold of them and can live with being locked into a specific departure time. They are however sold in very limited numbers and often sell out months in advance. Advance fares are available at many different rates in different quantities on particular trains - the cheapest fare may be as low as £1, even if the non-resticted full-fare is £100. Check with the applicable railway or discount services like megatrain In many cases round-trip tickets may cost only £1 more than a one-way ticket for long journeys, or 10p more for short journeys. For more information see Rail travel in the United Kingdom.

In France, you can make use of iDTGV [8] offers, which allow travel on selected high speed routes for as little as €19 one-way if booked in advance.

Other Schemes

Many railways offer non-conventional specials such as tickets in Germany and the Czech Republic which are sold in limited quantities at the supermarket Lidl. Normally these are not for set destinations, rather for a trip with in the country or from anywhere in the country to another country, but have other restrictions of how and when they can be used. It is possible to buy tickets from on-line auction and listing sites as many people end up with non-refundable tickets that they cannot use. Some railways, like Sweden's SJ sell left-over tickets via on-line auction themselves. Some countries offer specials on or around national holidays, others have special schemes offering train tickets combine with event tickets or incentives to foster tourism in a certain area.

Buying 2nd-hand early bird tickets

Often, (international) train tickets are much cheaper in pre-booking then bought directly before departure. Often also, people pre-book a ticket two months in advance, finding out that the planned, non-reimbursable itinerary doesn't fit their actual travelling need at the time of departure.

Luckily, through the Internet, other travellers can buy these tickets, often much cheaper than the last-minute price at the official counter.

For example: Amsterdam-Paris with the high speed Thalys costs 45 euros two months in advance, and € 145 directly at departure. The tickets are often not on name.

Passes

One page of an Inter Rail ticket

To save money on a multiple destination trip you may want to look into purchasing Inter Rail passes (for Europeans only) or Eurail passes (for non-EU citizens/residents). "Interrailing" is less popular in these days of discount airlines and various affordable air passes, but it remains a uniquely flexible way to travel — you can literally arrive at a city, decide you don't like the look of it, and zoom off on the next train out. This makes it a great way to get a feel for a large region, especially when heading out into the countryside. Do not, however, fall into the trap of traveling so continuously that all you see is a blur of railway stations.

Rail passes work just like tickets. After validating the pass, the pass holder is free to board any train that does not require reservations and is within the area/countries specified on the pass. Aside from the small reservation fee, the pass holder can get free transit on most trains that require reservations. Note that with these passes, you may still need to reserve seats or sleepers on some trains; on international and high-speed trains, reservations are often obligatory. In eastern European countries Interrail tends to be bad value for money as the local cost of point-to-point tickets is very low.

InterRail

The InterRail[9] pass allows any person who has been a legal resident in Europe or any of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia for at least six consecutive months (not travelling on a visa, or military personnel living on a base), to travel throughout Europe by train.

The previous convoluted zone system has been abolished, and there are now only two basic types:

The Global Pass is valid in 30 European countries, or basically all exceptAlbania, Belarus, Estonia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine . You can choose between a "continuous" pass allowing unlimited travel during 22 days or one month, or passes allowing either 5 days of travel in 10 days or 10 days of travel in 22 days, and finally, you can opt to travel first or second class. A special discounted Youth fare is available (2nd class only) for those under 26 on the first day of travel, and prices range from €159 for the 5-in-10 Youth 2nd class pass to €809 for the 1 month continuous 1st class pass.

The One Country Pass, formerly EuroDomino, is limited to one country only. Prices vary from country to country.

Extra fees can apply for making reservations, fast trains, couchettes and sleepers. The exact rules vary by country and can be very complex, so ask in advance, but a rule of thumb is that anything which requires a reservation in advance (shown with a black [R] in a box in schedules) will require a surcharge. If travelling overnight, the token fees for couchettes (usually less than €20) are well worth the price. For fast trains, such as the German ICE and the French TGV supplements are generally under €5, and occasionally even free. In peak season on popular routes seat reservations are definitely worthwhile.

Also note the one big exception of InterRail: travel in your home country is not included. Most countries do, however, grant a 50% discount for the trip to the nearest border. The same discount also applies if traveling from zone to zone through a country outside the pass.

The actual pass is a booklet the size of an airline ticket, each page filled with rows and columns. The front page will state the validity of the ticket (zones and time) and your personal details, which must match the ID you are using (usually a passport). Using it is very easy: whenever you board a train, write down date and time, where you're going from, where you're going to, seat or couchette, and the train number. When the conductors come to check tickets, show them the pass and they'll (usually) stamp that row. That's it! If you manage to run out of pages — a sign that you're travelling way too much — you can get extra ones added on at any larger train station. Your InterRail pass cannot be refunded if lost or stolen, so guard it carefully!

Eurail

Eurail[10] is a variety of rail passes which cover travel in a total of 27 countries in Europe. Intended for foreign visitors to Europe, the pass is similar in scope to Inter Rail, which is exclusively for European residents. Eurail Passes and Eurail tickets may not be sold to residents of Europe (including Turkey), the Russian Federation, Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia.

Balkan Flexipass

Although the slow and infrequent trains are by no means the most efficient way of traveling in the Balkans (this is by any standard of the bus), it is one of the more comfortable and scenic.

The Balkan Flexipass allows unlimited rail travel for 5, 10, 15 days of rail travel in a 1 month period in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. You can buy the Balkan Flexipass at trainstations in the countries mentioned [11] or, much more expensive, on the web.

Caveat is that trains in the Balkans are already really cheap and that it only pays off for longer distances. According to some travelers, if you wish to use couchettes or any fast trains, you need to add a fee.

Cost

Global passes are available in fixed-length versions of 15 or 21 days, and 1, 2, or 3 months of consecutive-day travel, or Flexipass, that allows the passenger to choose 10 or 15 non-consecutive days of travel within a period of 2 months.

Select Passes are all flexible and offer 5, 6, 8, 10, or 15 travel days in a 2-month period (the 15-days version is only available for 5 countries).

Pricing naturally depends on the exact variation: a flexible 5-day 3-country Youth Select Pass starts at $265, a consecutive 15-day Global Youth pass can be yours for $415, while a "travel as much as you can" consecutive three-month 1st-class pass would set you back a whopping $1789.

There are no Senior rates for Global or Select passes, but Senior rail passes are sold for specific countries or regions -- France, the Balkans and Scandinavia. These passes are available in 1st-class only, and cost little more than 2nd-class passes.

Prices usually rise every new year to reflect the changes in exchange rate and point-to-point fares, but as passes are generally valid for six months from date of issue to first day of travel, if you got your travel plans fixed it would make sense to buy passes in December, yet travel as late as June of the following year.
Passes are 85% refundable if cancelled before being validated, but after validation no refund is available for unused days of travel. Customers are offered an optional pass protection, which allows refund of point-to-point tickets bought within the scope of the pass in case the pass is lost or stolen.

Children under 4 travel free, except if a reservation for a separate seat is requested. Children 4-11 receive 50% off any Adult pass when accompanied by an adult with the same pass.

Passengers with 1st-class passes may travel in second-class compartments at any time. Those with 2nd-class passes can pay the difference (generally 50%) between 1st and 2nd point-to-point fares to upgrade to 1st.

Travel on several types of trains, in particular high-speed trains such as TGV, Thalys, InterCity Express (ICE), Eurostar Italia, Cisalpino, X2000, AVE and Talgo 200, require pass holders to pay supplements.
Eurail passes are not valid on Eurostar crossings between UK and France or Belgium, but a discounted Passholder Fare applies to those with valid railpasses for travel in France or Belgium (departure or arrival country).

Reservations are mandatory for many express services, and optional on most long-distance trains. Pass holders must pay the reservation fee, although groups of 6 paying adults traveling together get a 30% discount.

Overnight services also charge supplements for a sleeper cabin of 1 to 3 passengers, or couchette, a bunk-bed compartment for 4 or 6 passengers, or reclined seats (sleeperettes). Several Hotel Trains offer deluxe cabins with en-suite bathroom, meals and other goodies.

Passes must be validated by a railway agent prior to first day of use. Holders of non-consecutive days passes should mark the date in the appropriate box before boarding a train or ship for the first time each day.

Unlike Inter Rail, there are no limitations regarding the starting country, and there are no discounts for travel outside the selected zones.

Ferries

On both Inter Rail and Eurail, ferries between Ireland and France, Italy and Greece as well as many ferries in the Baltic sea between Denmark, Germany Sweden and Finland, are either free or steeply discounted. Many boat rides on Switzerland's lakes are free as well.

Inter Rail X-days-in-Y-days, Eurail Flexipass and Eurail Select Pass holders require use of a travel day for free passage on a ship; traveling at a reduced fare does not require use of a travel day.

For free passage travel, your pass must be valid for both the countries of departure and arrival; for discounted passage, either country is acceptable.

Always check the daily schedules during the specific week of travel. Some ferries cease operation in the off-season altogether, while others reduce service to one roundtrip daily, from several trips a day during peak season.

Quirks and caveats

Unless otherwise noted, these all apply to both Eurail and Inter Rail passes.

Eurail Passes cover border city stations outside their countries as well. For example, Salzburg, Austria is considered a border station of Germany and therefore is covered by Germany railpasses.

A vacant seat is not guaranteed unless you make a reservation.

Travel days are generally counted from midnight to midnight. There is one useful exception: If you board a direct overnight train or ferry after 7 p.m., your travel day will last until midnight the next day.

One-month passes last longer when validated (on any day) within a 31-day month.

Swiss Pass (but not multi-country passes including Switzerland) is valid for all means of transportation, including post bus, lake boats, cable cars and urban transportation. They also allow free admission to many museums.

In general, passes are valid only on trains operated by national rail companies. In some countries (Italy, Spain and Switzerland in particular) you'll find regional or private companies that don't accept Eurail passes.

BritRail

Similar to the Eurail Pass, BritRail Passes [12] are for the United Kingdom only. These passes are valid in England, Scotland and Wales.

Stay Safe

When travelling, you need to watch your luggage and stay alert. This is true when you're on a train as well. Theft can be comparatively common on metros or trains with a lot of stops in short succession, since this will allow a thief to get off the train quickly. Trains that cover longer distances are usually safer; on high speed trains passengers routinely take laptops on their journeys. Late in the evening and on nights in the weekends, travel in well lit areas of the train and if possible in the same car as the conductor.

Always, report suspicious characters to the conductor and move to a more populated and lit area.

The West Highland Railway from Glasgow to Mallaig operated by First Scot Rail through west Scotland is also very beautiful, twice a day in summer there is a steam locomotive the Jacobite going on this route, parts of it including the locomotive were used in Harry Potter films.

Venice Simplon Orient Express[17] Is a new take on the tradition of the famous Orient Express route that began operating in 1883 and with the last of the true Orient Express brand ceasing operation in 1962. The operation runs from March to November and stops at eight major destinations - London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Istanbul. Prices for the route from Paris to Istanbul for the 6 day/ 5 night journey are over £4,000.

The Heart of Wales Line[18], running between the medieval town of Shrewsbury and the sea-side city of Swansea, this railway passes through some of Wales' most spectacular scenic spots and picturesque towns during its three hour and forty minute journey.